Methods, systems, and devices for providing voice-call services responsive to a dialed sequence

ABSTRACT

A connection is established in a communications network responsive to receiving a Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) signal at a port having an assigned sequence associated therewith. A dialed sequence corresponding to the received DTMF signal is identified. If the dialed sequence is associated with a request for a specified service, first and second fields of a packet-switched signaling protocol message are populated with the assigned sequence associated with the port. The populated packet-switched signaling protocol message is transmitted over a packet-switched network to request the specified service, and a connection is established to provide the specified service through the port. Related systems and devices are also discussed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to communications networks, and, moreparticularly, to providing services over a communications network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Communications networks are widely used for nationwide and worldwidecommunication of voice, multimedia and/or data. As used herein,communications networks include public communications networks, such asthe Public-Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), terrestrial and/orsatellite cellular networks, and/or the Internet.

The Internet is a decentralized network of computers that cancommunicate with one another via Internet Protocol (IP). The Internet isa packet-switched network, where data may be broken into bits (packets)such that each packet may be transmitted separately across variousnetworks and then reassembled before delivery. Packet-switching may behighly efficient, as many packets can use the same transmission path,and may also be resilient, because packet-switching protocols maydynamically route around congested or downed network sectors. Incontrast, the PSTN is a circuit-switched network, where all data may godirectly to a call recipient in the correct order across a dedicatedcircuit. The dedicated circuit may be utilized exclusively until thecall ends.

A gateway may be used to provide interoperability betweencircuit-switched networks (such as the PSTN) and packet-switchednetworks (such as the Internet). More generally, a gateway may be anetwork node that is equipped for interfacing with other networks thatuse different protocols. The gateway may include protocol translators,signal translators, and/or access equipment as necessary to providesystem interoperability. For example, an access multiplexer may beemployed as a gateway device. An access multiplexer is a network devicethat receives signals from multiple customer lines and puts the signalson one or more high-speed backbone lines using multiplexing techniques.

Voice-Over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a packet-based voice service thatis increasingly being provided by telecommunications service providers.In VoIP, voice communications may be digitized and transmitted in smalldata packets to the intended recipients over a packet-switched network.Accordingly, in order to implement VoIP services, manytelecommunications service providers may wish to replace traditionalClass-5 switches in existing telephone networks with access multiplexersincluding gateway functionality. More particularly, an accessmultiplexer with gateway functionality may be used to provide VoIPservice to customers by connecting them to VoIP feature serversavailable in the packet-switched network. However, it may be difficultto implement such a transition without impact on existing customerservices.

For example, *98 service is an existing advanced intelligent network(AIN) service which allows customers to call into their voicemail fromtheir home phone number directly by dialing *98. However, not all VoIPfeature servers may be configured to support *98 voicemail service. Assuch, in order for existing customers to continue to access voicemail bydialing *98, VoIP feature server vendors may be required to develop acustom *98 service, which may be costly for telephone service providers.Alternatively, as most VoIP feature servers may support *XX feature codedialing and/or *XX speed dialing, telephone service providers mayprovision *98 using the *XX feature to forward calls to a customer'svoicemail portal. However, in such a solution, a customer may be able tochange the settings associated with *98 on the VoIP feature servers viatheir telephone user interface. Consequently, a customer mayinadvertently deactivate *98 service. Also, such provisioning may limitthe full feature capability offered by *XX feature code dialing and/or*XX speed dialing provided by the VoIP feature servers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to some embodiments of the present invention, a method ofestablishing a connection in a communications network may includereceiving a Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) signal at a port having anassigned sequence associated therewith. A dialed sequence correspondingto the received DTMF signal may be identified. If the dialed sequence isassociated with a request for a specified service, first and secondfields of a packet-switched signaling protocol message may be populatedwith the assigned sequence associated with the port. The populatedpacket-switched signaling protocol message may be transmitted over apacket-switched network to request the specified service, and aconnection may be established to provide the specified service throughthe port.

In some embodiments, if the dialed sequence is not associated with arequest for a specified service, the first field may be populated withthe assigned sequence, and the second field may be populated with thedialed sequence.

In other embodiments, the dialed sequence may be a shorter sequence thanthe assigned sequence associated with the port. For example, the dialedsequence may be a two- or three-character sequence, while the assignedsequence may be a seven- or ten-character sequence.

In some embodiments, the first and second fields of the packet-switchedsignaling protocol message may be an origination field and a destinationfield. As such, the origination field and the destination field may bepopulated with the assigned sequence associated with the port.

In other embodiments, the specified service may be a voicemail service,and the packet-switched signaling protocol message may be a SessionInitiation Protocol (SIP) message.

In some embodiments, the DTMF signal may be received over a publictelephone network at a port of a Public-Switched Telephone Network(PSTN)/Internet Protocol (IP) gateway device. As such, the dialedsequence may be identified and the first and second fields of thepacket-switched signaling protocol message may be populated at thePSTN/IP gateway device. For example, the PSTN/IP gateway device may be aDigital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM).

In other embodiments, the populated packet-switched signaling protocolmessage may be transmitted to a server configured to provide thespecified service, and a connection may be established between the portand the server. For example, the populated packet-switched signalingprotocol message may be transmitted to an application server. Theapplication server may be configured to transmit a request to a mediaserver configured to provide the specified service. As such, aconnection may be established between the port and the media server.

According to further embodiments of the present invention, a networkaccess device may include a port having an assigned sequence associatedtherewith and configured to receive a Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF)signal. A controller may be coupled to the port. The controller may beconfigured to identify a dialed sequence corresponding to the receivedDTMF signal. If the dialed sequence is associated with a request for aspecified service, the controller may be configured to populate firstand second fields of a packet-switched signaling protocol message withthe assigned sequence associated with the port. A transmitter may becoupled to the controller and may be configured to transmit thepopulated packet-switched signaling protocol message over apacket-switched network to request the specified service.

In some embodiments, if the dialed sequence is not associated with arequest for a specified service, the controller may be furtherconfigured to populate the first field with the assigned sequence andpopulate the second field with the dialed sequence.

In other embodiments, the dialed sequence may be a shorter sequence thanthe assigned sequence associated with the port.

In some embodiments, the first and second fields of the packet-switchedsignaling protocol message may be an origination field and a destinationfield. For example, the packet-switched signaling protocol message maybe a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) message. As such, the controllermay be configured to populate the origination field and the destinationfield of the packet-switched signaling protocol message with theassigned sequence associated with the port.

In other embodiments, the specified service may be a voicemail service.

In some embodiments, the port may be configured to receive the DTMFsignal over a public telephone network. The controller may be configuredto provide an interface between the public telephone network and thepacket-switched network. For example, the network access device may be aDigital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM) configured to providea Public-Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)/Internet Protocol (IP)gateway.

In some embodiments, the transmitter may be configured to transmit thepopulated packet-switched signaling protocol message to a serverconfigured to provide the specified service. The controller may beconfigured to establish a connection between the port and the server.For example, the transmitter may be configured to transmit the populatedpacket-switched signaling protocol message to an application server. Theapplication server may be configured to transmit a request to a mediaserver configured to provide the specified service. As such, thecontroller may be configured to establish a connection between the portand the media server.

According to still further embodiments of the present invention, amethod of establishing a connection between a Public-Switched TelephoneNetwork (PSTN) and an Internet Protocol (IP) network may includeidentifying a dialed sequence corresponding to a Dual ToneMulti-Frequency (DTMF) signal received at a port of a PSTN/IP gatewaydevice. The port may have a first sequence associated therewith. If thedialed sequence is associated with a specified service, a secondsequence that is different from the dialed sequence may be associatedwith the identified dialed sequence at the PSTN/IP gateway device. Apacket-switched signaling protocol message including the first sequenceand the second sequence may be transmitted from the PSTN/IP gatewaydevice to a server over a packet-switched network to request thespecified service.

According to other embodiments of the present invention, a system foraccessing services in a communications network may include an accessmultiplexer configured to identify a dialed sequence corresponding to aDual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) signal received at a port thereof. Theaccess multiplexer may be configured to populate a packet-switchedsignaling protocol message with a first sequence associated with theport and a second sequence associated with the dialed sequence that isdifferent from the dialed sequence. The access multiplexer may befurther configured to transmit the packet-switched signaling protocolmessage over a packet-switched network to request a specified serviceassociated with the dialed sequence. For example, the first sequence andthe second sequence may be a same sequence, and the specified servicemay be a voicemail service.

Other methods, systems, devices, and/or computer program productsaccording to other embodiments of the invention will be or becomeapparent to one with skill in the art upon review of the followingdrawings and detailed description. It is intended that all suchadditional methods, systems, devices, and/or computer program productsbe included within this description, be within the scope of the presentinvention, and be protected by the accompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating systems and methods for providingvoice-call services responsive to a dialed sequence according to someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating an access multiplexer configuredto provide voice-call services responsive to a dialed sequence accordingto some embodiments of the present invention

FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating a line card configured toprovide voice-call services responsive to a dialed sequence according tosome embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating operations for providing voice-callservices responsive to a dialed sequence according to some embodimentsof the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating operations for establishing aconnection between customer premises equipment and a feature serverconfigured to provide voice-call services responsive to a dialedsequence according to some embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which illustrated embodimentsof the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fullyconvey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Likenumbers refer to like elements throughout.

As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless expressly stated otherwise. Itwill be further understood that the terms “includes,” “comprises,”“including,” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification,specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations,elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence oraddition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations,elements, components, and/or groups thereof. It will be understood thatwhen an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” toanother element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the otherelement or intervening elements may be present. Furthermore, “connected”or “coupled” as used herein may include wirelessly connected or coupled.As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations ofone or more of the associated listed items.

It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc.may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements shouldnot be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguishone element from another. For example, a first multimedia device couldbe termed a second multimedia device, and, similarly, a secondmultimedia device could be termed a first multimedia device withoutdeparting from the teachings of the disclosure.

The present invention may be embodied as systems, methods, and/orcomputer program products. Accordingly, the present invention may beembodied in hardware and/or hardware in combination with software(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.). Furthermore,the present invention may take the form of a computer program product ona computer-readable storage medium having computer-usable orcomputer-readable program code embodied in the computer-readable storagemedium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system.In the context of this document, a computer-readable storage medium maybe any medium that can contain and/or store the program for use by or inconnection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

The computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be, for example butnot limited to, a system, apparatus, or device. More specific examples(a non-exhaustive list) of the computer-readable storage medium wouldinclude the following: a portable computer diskette, a random accessmemory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmableread-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), and a portable compact discread-only memory (CD-ROM).

The present invention is described herein with reference to flowchartand/or block diagram illustrations of methods, systems, and devices inaccordance with exemplary embodiments of the invention. It will beunderstood that each block of the flowchart and/or block diagramillustrations, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram illustrations, may be implemented by computer programinstructions and/or hardware operations. These computer programinstructions may be provided to a processor of a general purposecomputer, a special purpose computer, or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions,which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmabledata processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functionsspecified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerusable or computer-readable memory that may direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer usable orcomputer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture includinginstructions that implement the function specified in the flowchartand/or block diagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that theinstructions that execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in theflowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will befurther understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art andwill not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unlessexpressly so defined herein.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating systems and methods for providingvoice-call services responsive to a dialed sequence according to someembodiments of the present invention. Referring now to FIG. 1, a system100 includes customer premises equipment (CPE) 105 a located at customerpremises 102 a and coupled to an access multiplexer 115 a via a localloop 110 a. The access multiplexer 115 a is configured to provide aninterface between the customer premises equipment 105 a and acircuit-switched network 120 and/or a packet-switched network 125. Inother words, the access multiplexer 115 a may be configured to providegateway functionality between the circuit-switched and packet-switchednetworks 120 and 125. For example, the circuit-switched network 120 maybe a public telephone network, such as the Public-Switched TelephoneNetwork (PSTN), and the packet-switched network 125 may be an InternetProtocol (IP) network, such as the Internet. The packet-switched network125 may also include an application server 130 a and/or a media server130 b connected thereto. An access multiplexer 115 b is also connectedto the packet-switched network 125 and/or the circuit-switched network120, and provides an interface between the networks 120 and 125 andcustomer premises equipment 105 b (located at customer premises 102 b)via local loop 110 b.

As used herein, customer premises 102 a and/or 102 b may include anylocation where customer premises equipment 105 a and/or 105 b isinstalled. For example, the customer premises 102 a and/or 102 b may bea house, an apartment, an office, or other location. The customerpremises equipment 105 a and/or 105 b may include any voice and/or datacommunications device, for example, a conventional telephone, aVoice-Over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) telephone, a conventional telephonecoupled to a VoIP adapter, and/or a computer providing telephonyfunctionality. More generally, the customer premises equipment 105 aand/or 105 b may refer to any telecommunications equipment residing on acustomer site.

The local loop 110 a and/or 110 b is a connection between the customerpremises 102 a and/or 102 b and a telecommunication service provider'scentral office or other local terminating point. As such, the local loop110 a or 110 b provides a transmission path between the accessmultiplexers 115 a and/or 115 b and the customer premises equipment 105a and/or 105 b. For example, the local loop 110 a and/or 110 b mayinclude a wire line connection (such as a twisted pair transmissionline), an optical connection (such as a fiber optic cable), and/or awireless connection to the telecommunication service provider'sterminating equipment (i.e., access multiplexers 115 a and 115 b).

The access multiplexers 115 a and/or 115 b are network devices at theservice provider's central office or other local terminating point thatlink multiple customer connections to one or more high-speedtransmission lines for connection to the circuit-switched network 120and/or the packet-switched network 125. For example, the accessmultiplexers 115 and/or 115 b may be digital subscriber line accessmultiplexers (DSLAMs) linking customer premises equipment 105 a and/or105 b to the PSTN and Internet. As such, a DSL signal may be receivedfrom customer premises equipment 105 a at access multiplexer 115 a viathe local loop 110 a over a twisted pair transmission line. An xDSLmodem with a POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) splitter at the accessmultiplexer 115 a may be used to extract voice calls (at lowerfrequencies) and data (at higher frequencies) from the received DSLsignal. Voice calls may then be transmitted to the PSTN, and data may betransmitted to the Internet. The voice and data may respectively passthrough the PSTN and the Internet, and may be received at accessmultiplexer 115 b. An xDSL modem at the access multiplexer 115 b maycombine and transmit the voice and data to customer premises equipment105 b via the local loop 110 b.

The access multiplexers 115 a and/or 115 b may also be configured toprovide voice-over-IP (VoIP) services, where voice communications aredigitized and transmitted in small data packets over a packet-switchednetwork to the intended recipients. As such, the access multiplexers 115a and/or 115 b may act as VoIP line gateways that perform PSTN to IPconversion. More particularly, the access multiplexers 115 a and/or 115b may provide a PSTN loop interface (including, for example, rings, dialtone, call waiting tone, caller name and number, etc.) to a wire linecustomer, and may map the PSTN signalings to VoIP signalings, such asSession Initiation Protocol (SIP) and/or Real-Time Transport Protocol(RTP).

The application server 130 a and/or the media server 130 b may befeature server computers coupled to the packet-switched network 125 thatare dedicated for running certain software applications. For example,the application server 130 a and/or the media server 130 b may be setupand administered to provide application services, such as voicemailservices, to users of the network. More particularly, the applicationserver 130 a and/or the media server 130 b may be a VoIP feature serverconfigured to provide voicemail service for customer premises equipment105 a and/or 105 b. For example, the VoIP Feature Server may beconfigured to provide voicemail service if a customer dials his owntelephone number. In other words, upon receiving a SIP message includingthe customer's 7- or 10-digit telephone number in both the originationand destination fields, the VoIP feature server may recognize the SIPmessage as a request for voicemail service, and may map the message to avoicemail portal to provide the voicemail service.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, the accessmultiplexers 115 a and/or 115 b may be configured to provide voice-callservices responsive to a dialed sequence. More particularly, the accessmultiplexers 115 a and/or 115 b may be configured to receive a Dual-ToneMulti-Frequency (DTMF) signal over the local loop 110 a and/or 110 b ata port thereof. The port may be associated with an assigned sequenceand/or string. For example, the assigned sequence may be a 7- or10-digit phone number corresponding to customer premises equipment thatis coupled to the port. The access multiplexers 115 a and/or 115 b maybe configured to identify a dialed sequence corresponding to thereceived DTMF signal, and recognize whether a specified service isassociated with the dialed sequence. If the dialed sequence isassociated with a request for a specified service, the accessmultiplexers 115 a and/or 115 b may be configured to populate first andsecond fields of a packet-switched signaling protocol message with theassigned sequence associated with the port and/or with a differentsequence associated with the dialed sequence. The access multiplexers115 a and/or 115 b may be further configured to transmit the populatedpacket-switched signaling protocol message over a packet-switchednetwork to request the specified service, and establish a connection toprovide the specified service through the port.

However, if the dialed sequence is not associated with a request forspecified service, the access multiplexer 115 a may be configured topopulate a first field of the packet-switched signaling protocol messagewith the assigned sequence and populate a second field of thepacket-switched signaling protocol message with the dialed sequence. Assuch, a connection between the port of the access multiplexer 115 a anda port associated with the dialed sequence may be established, as isconventional in the art.

Operations performed by an access multiplexer and/or other gatewaydevice according to embodiments of the present invention will now bedescribed with reference to FIG. 1. For example, a user at customerpremises 102 a may dial *98 on customer premises equipment 105 a (forexample, a conventional touch-tone telephone) to access a voicemailservice. Access multiplexer 115 a may receive a DTMF signalcorresponding to *98 over local loop 110 a (for example, a twisted pairtransmission line in a public telephone network). More particularly, theDTMF signal may be received at a port of the access multiplexer 115 a. A7- or 10-digit sequence corresponding to a telephone number identifyingthe customer premises equipment 105 a may be associated with the port.The access multiplexer 115 a may identify *98 as the dialed sequence,and may recognize that *98 is associated with a request for voicemailservice.

As described above, a VoIP feature server, such as media server 130 b,may be configured to provide voicemail service responsive to receiving asignaling message including the user's phone number in both theorigination and destination fields. Therefore, where the received DTMFsignal is recognized as a request for voicemail service, the accessmultiplexer 115 a may populate an origination field and a destinationfield of a Session-Initiation Protocol (SIP) message with the 7- or10-digit sequence associated with the port. In other words, rather thanpopulating the destination field of the SIP message with the dialedsequence (as in a conventional VoIP system), the access multiplexer 115a may associate the dialed sequence (here, *98) with the 7- or 10-digitphone number of the customer premises equipment 105 a, and may populatethe destination field of the SIP message with this phone number. Theaccess multiplexer 115 a may also populate the origination field of theSIP message with the assigned sequence associated with the port (here,also the 7- or 10-digit phone number). As such, when the specifiedservice is a voicemail service, the assigned sequence associated withthe port may be the same as a sequence associated with the dialedsequence. However, it should be noted that if the dialed sequence isrecognized as a request for another service (i.e., other thanvoicemail), the access multiplexer may populate the origination field ofthe SIP message with the assigned sequence associated with the port, butmay populate the destination field with a different sequence that isassociated with the dialed sequence.

The access multiplexer 115 a then transmits the SIP message over thepacket-switched network 125 to request voicemail service, for example,from the application server 130 a and/or the media server 130 b. Theaccess multiplexer may thereby establish a connection between theapplication server 130 a and/or the media server 130 b and the portcoupled to the customer premises equipment 105 a to provide thevoicemail service. In addition, the *98 feature in the accessmultiplexer 115 a may be activated and/or deactivated by a serviceprovider, should the service provider subsequently decide to support *98for use with a different feature. Accordingly, users of the customerpremises equipment 105 a and/or 105 b may not alter the provisioning ofthe *98 service.

Although FIG. 1 illustrates exemplary systems and/or methods forproviding voice-call services responsive to a dialed sequence inaccordance with some embodiments of the present invention, it will beunderstood that the present invention is not limited to such aconfiguration, but is intended to encompass any configuration capable ofcarrying out the operations described herein. For example, althoughapplication server 130 a and media server 130 b are illustrated asseparate elements, it is to be understood that application server 130 aand media server 130 b may be included in a single server computer,which may be referred to as a feature server. Also, although customerpremises equipment 105 a and 105 b are illustrated as coupled todifferent access multiplexers 115 a and 115 b, respectively, thecustomer premises equipment 105 a and 105 b may be coupled to a sameaccess multiplexer. Moreover, in VoIP embodiments, the PSTN 120 may beeliminated from the system 100.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating elements of an accessmultiplexer 215 according to some embodiments of the present invention.The access multiplexer 215 may correspond to the access multiplexers 115a and/or 115 b of FIG. 1.

Referring now to FIG. 2A, the access multiplexer 215 may include achassis that links multiple customer connections at ports thereof to oneor more high-speed connections. For example, the access multiplexer 215may be a digital subscriber line access multiplexer (DSLAM). The accessmultiplexer 215 may be located in a central office (CO) of atelecommunications services provider. Alternatively, the accessmultiplexer 215 may be remotely located. The access multiplexer 215 maybe configured to provide a gateway between a circuit-switched network,such as the public-switched telephone network (PSTN), and apacket-switched network, such as an Internet protocol (IP) network. Assuch, the access multiplexer 215 may serve as a replacement for aconventional Class-5 switch. The access multiplexer 215 may also includea plurality of line cards 205 a-205 e. The line cards 205 a-205 e may beelectronic printed circuit boards configured to provide an interfacebetween the telecommunication lines from the customer premises equipmentand the PSTN and/or IP network.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating components of a line card 205configured to provide voice-call services responsive to a dialedsequence according to some embodiments of the present invention. Theline card 205 may correspond to one of the line cards 205 a-205 e ofFIG. 2A.

Referring now to FIG. 2B, the line card 205 includes one or more ports215, a transceiver 225, a controller 230, and a memory 240. The memory240 may represent a hierarchy of memory that may include volatile and/ornonvolatile memory, such as removable flash, magnetic, and/or opticalrewriteable nonvolatile memory. The transceiver 225 is coupled betweenthe port 215 and a circuit-switched and/or a packet-switched network.The transceiver 225 typically includes a transmitter circuit 250 and areceiver circuit 245, which cooperate to transmit and receive signalsbetween networks, such as the circuit-switched and packet-switchednetworks 120 and 125 of FIG. 1, and customer premises equipment, such asthe customer premises equipment 105 a and/or 105 b. The controller 230is coupled to the memory 240, the transceiver 225, and/or the port 215.The controller 230 may be, for example, a commercially available orcustom microprocessor that is configured to coordinate and manageoperations of the transceiver 225, the memory 240, and/or the port 215.As such, the controller 230 may be configured to provide an interfacebetween the circuit-switched network and the packet-switched network.

The port 215 may be coupled to customer premises equipment, such as thecustomer premises equipment 105 a and/or 105 b of FIG. 1, and may havean assigned sequence associated therewith. For instance, the assignedsequence may be the telephone number associated with the customerpremises equipment. As such, the assigned sequence may be a 7- or10-digit sequence. The port 215 may be configured to receive a Dual ToneMulti-Frequency (DTMF) signal from the customer premises equipment overa circuit-switched network, for example, a public telephone network suchas the PSTN. More particularly, the receiver 245 may be configured toreceive the DTMF signal via the port 215.

Still referring to FIG. 2B, the controller 230 may be configured toidentify a dialed sequence corresponding to the received DTMF signal,and may be further configured to recognize whether the dialed sequenceis associated with a request for a specified service. The dialedsequence may be a shorter sequence than the assigned sequence associatedwith the port 215. For example, the dialed sequence may be *98, and thecontroller 230 may be configured to recognize that *98 is associatedwith a request for a voicemail service. Upon determining that the dialedsequence is associated with a request for a specified service, thecontroller 230 may be configured to populate first and second fields ofa packet-switched signaling protocol message with the assigned sequenceassociated with the port 215. For instance, in the above example wherethe specified service is a voicemail service, the packet-switchedsignaling protocol message may be a session initiation protocol (SIP)message including an origination field and a destination field. As such,the controller 230 may be configured to populate the origination fieldand the destination field of the SIP message with the assigned sequenceassociated with the port 215. In other words, when the dialed sequenceis associated with a request for voicemail service, the controller 230may be configured to populate both the origination and destinationfields with the 7- or 10-digit telephone number associated with thecustomer premises equipment.

The transmitter 250 may be configured to transmit the populatedpacket-switched signaling protocol message over a packet-switchednetwork to request the specified service. More particularly, thetransmitter 250 may be configured to transmit the populatedpacket-switched signaling protocol message to a server computer that isconfigured to provide the specified service, and the controller 230 maybe configured to establish a connection between the port 215 and theserver. For example, the transmitter 250 may be configured to transmitthe populated packet-switched signaling protocol message to anapplication server, such as the application server 130 a of FIG. 1. Theapplication server may be configured to transmit a request to a mediaserver, such as the media server 130 b, that is configured to providethe specified service. As such, the controller 230 may be configured toestablish a connection between the port 215 and the media server.

However, if the dialed sequence is not associated with a request forspecified service, the controller 230 may be configured to populate afirst field of the packet-switched signaling protocol message with theassigned sequence associated with the port 215, and populate a secondfield of the packet-switched signaling protocol message with the dialedsequence. For example, where the packet-switched signaling protocolmessage is a SIP message, the controller 230 may populate theorigination field of the SIP message with the 7- or 10-digit telephonenumber associated with customer premises equipment coupled to the port215, and may populate the destination field of the SIP message with thedialed sequence. As such, the controller may be configured to establisha connection between the port 215 and the port associated with thedialed sequence, as is well known in the art.

Although FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate exemplary access multiplexers andline cards according to some embodiments of the present invention, itwill be understood that the present invention is not limited to such aconfiguration but is intended to encompass any configuration capable ofcarrying out the operations described herein. For example, although thememory 240 and the controller 230 are illustrated as separate elements,the memory 240, or portions thereof may be considered as a part of thecontroller 230. More generally, while particular functionalities areshown in particular blocks by way of illustration, functionalities ofdifferent blocks and/or portions thereof may be combined, divided,and/or eliminated.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating operations for providing voice-callservices responsive to a dialed sequence according to some embodimentsof the present invention. For example, the operations illustrated inFIG. 3 may be performed by a PSTN/IP gateway device, such as the accessmultiplexer 215 of FIG. 2A. The operations illustrated in FIG. 3 mayalso be performed by other edge devices, for example, FITL(Fiber-In-The-Loop), NGDLC (Next Generation Digital Loop Carrier), TR008Gateway, GR303 Gateway, and/or other gateway devices.

Referring now to FIG. 3 operations begin (Block 300) when a Dual-ToneMulti-Frequency (DTMF) signal is received at a port having an assignedsequence associated therewith. For example, the assigned sequence may bea telephone number that identifies the customer premises equipmentconnected to the port. A dialed sequence corresponding to the receivedDTMF signal is then identified (Block 310), and it is determined whetherthe dialed sequence is associated with a specified service (Block 315).For example, the dialed sequence may be a two or three-digit sequenceassociated with a voice-call service provided by the service provider,while the assigned sequence may be a 7 to 10-digit telephone numberidentifying customer premises equipment connected to the port. As such,the dialed sequence may be a shorter sequence than the assigned sequenceassociated with the port. Alternatively, the dialed sequence may be a 7-to 10-digit sequence identifying customer premises equipment to becalled.

Still referring to FIG. 3, if the dialed sequence is associated with arequest for a specified service (Block 315), first and second fields ofa packet-switched signaling protocol message are populated with theassigned sequence associated with the port. For example, the specifiedservice may be a voicemail service, and the packet-switched signalingprotocol message may be a session initiation protocol (SIP) messageincluding an origination field and a destination field. As such, boththe origination field and the destination field of the SIP message maybe populated with the assigned sequence (Block 320). The populatedpacket-switched signaling protocol message is transmitted over apacket-switched network to request the specified service (Block 330),and a connection is established to provide the specified service throughthe port (Block 340). For example, the populated packet-switchedsignaling protocol message may be transmitted to a server computerconfigured to provide the specified service, and a connection may beestablished between the port and the server to provide the specifiedservice. More particularly, the populated packet-switched signalingprotocol message may be transmitted to an application server, such asthe application server 130 a of FIG. 1. The application server may beconfigured to transmit a request to a media server, such as the mediaserver 130 b of FIG. 1, that is configured to provide the specifiedservice. As such, a connection may be established between the port andthe feature server to provide the specified service.

However, if the dialed sequence is not associated with a request for aspecified service (Block 315), the first field of the packet-switchedsignaling protocol message is populated with the assigned sequence,while the second field of the packet-switched signaling protocol messageis populated with the dialed sequence (Block 325). For example, if thedialed sequence is not associated with a specified service, the dialedsequence may also be a 7 to 10-digit telephone number identifying othercustomer premises equipment. As such, where the packet-switchedsignaling protocol message is a SIP message, the origination field maybe populated with the assigned sequence (i.e., the telephone numberassociated with the customer premises equipment coupled to the port215), while the destination field may be populated with the dialedsequence (i.e., the telephone number associated with the other customerpremises equipment). Accordingly, the populated packet-switchedsignaling protocol message is transmitted over a packet-switched network(Block 335) to request a connection, and a connection is establishedbetween the port and a port associated with the dialed sequence (Block345), as is well known, for example, in conventional voice-over-IP(VoIP) systems.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating systems and methods for providingvoice-call services responsive to a dialed sequence in accordance withfurther embodiments of the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 4, when a customer accesses a telephone or othercustomer premises equipment 402, a signal indicating that thetelephone/customer premises equipment 402 is in use is transmitted tothe access multiplexer 407 or other PSTN/IP gateway device (Step 405).For example, the access multiplexer 407 may be a digital subscriber lineaccess multiplexer (DSLAM). Other examples of PSTN/IP gateway devicesmay include FITL (Fiber-In-The-Loop), NGDLC (Next Generation DigitalLoop Carrier), TR008 Gateway, and/or GR303 Gateway devices. Upon receiptof the signal from the customer premises equipment 402, the accessmultiplexer 407 provides a dial tone or stutter dial tone (Step 410),indicating the presence of voicemail. Noticing that he has voicemailupon hearing the stutter dial tone, the customer dials *98 usingcustomer premises equipment 402, and a Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF)signal corresponding to *98 is transmitted to the access multiplexer407. The access multiplexer 407 receives the DTMF signal at a portthereof (Step 415), and identifies the dialed sequence as *98. Theaccess multiplexer 407 also recognizes that *98 is associated with arequest for a voicemail service. As such, the access multiplexer 407associates a different sequence with the identified dialed sequence.

More particularly, since the dialed sequence is associated withvoicemail service, the access multiplexer 407 associates the dialedsequence with the 7 to 10-digit telephone number assigned to the portfrom which the dialed sequence was received. The access multiplexer 407then populates the origination and destination fields of a SessionInitiation Protocol (SIP) message with the telephone number assigned tothe port (identified as “DN” in FIG. 4). As shown in FIG. 4, the SIPmessage may also include a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI), vendordata (BW), server data (AS), the fully quantified domain name (FQDN) ofthe access multiplexer 407, and/or the session definition protocol (SDP)for the access multiplexer 407. The populated SIP message is thentransmitted from the access multiplexer 407 to an application server 422or other feature server (Step 420).

The application server 422 may be a server computer that is configuredto provide an interface between the access multiplexer 407 or otherPSTN/IP gateway device and the server computer that is configured toprovide the specified service. As such, the access multiplexer 407receives a SIP message from the application server 422 indicating thatit is trying to connect (Step 425). At this time, the application server422 signals the media server 432 to request voicemail service (Step430). The media server 432 may be, for example, a VoIP feature serverthat is configured to provide voicemail service for the customerpremises equipment 402. The signaling between the application server 422and the media server 432 can be a SIP message and/or a proprietarysignaling protocol. The access multiplexer 407 receives a SIP messagefrom the application server 422 indicating ringing (Step 435), and inresponse, the access multiplexer 407 provides an audible ring to thecustomer premises equipment 402 (Step 440).

Eventually, the access multiplexer 407 receives a SIP message from theapplication server 422 indicating approval of the request (Step 445).The SIP message may also include the SDP for the media server 432. Theaccess multiplexer 407 then transmits a SIP message to the applicationserver 422 acknowledging the approval (Step 450), and a connection tovoicemail service between the customer premises equipment 402 and themedia server 432 is established (Step 455).

Thus, according to some embodiments of the present invention, aspecified service (for example, a voicemail service) may be providedthrough a port based on a dialed sequence received at the port. Moreparticularly, first and second fields of a packet-switched signalingprotocol message may be populated with a sequence associated with a portif the dialed sequence is associated with a request for the specifiedservice. For example, if the dialed sequence is associated with arequest for voicemail service, the origination and destination fields ofa SIP message may be populated with a telephone number associated withthe port, and the SIP message may be transmitted to a VoIP featureserver configured to provide the voicemail service. As such, customerscan continue to dial *98 to access voicemail services even where aconventional Class-5 switch at a PSTN/IP gateway has been replaced withan access multiplexer, since the SIP message requesting voicemailservice may be populated at the gateway. Accordingly, existing wirelinecustomers may be migrated from Class-5 switches to accessmultiplexer/VoIP architectures with little or no impact on theirexisting services. Moreover, customers may be prevented fromre-provisioning the *98 code to another functionality.

In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed exemplaryembodiments of the invention. However, many variations and modificationscan be made to these embodiments without substantially departing fromthe principles of the present invention. All such variations andmodifications are intended to be included herein within the scope of thepresent invention, as set forth in the following claims.

1. A method of establishing a connection in a communications network,the method comprising: receiving a Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF)signal at a port, the port having an assigned numerical sequenceassociated therewith; identifying a dialed sequence corresponding to thereceived DTMF signal, wherein the dialed sequence is associated with arequest for a specified service; in response to identifying the dialedsequence as associated with the request for the specified service,populating a first field of a packet-switched signaling protocol messagewith the assigned numerical sequence and populating a different secondfield of the packet-switched signaling protocol message with theassigned numerical sequence, wherein each of the first and second fieldsof the packet-switched signaling protocol message are populated with thesame assigned numerical sequence associated with the port at which theDTMF signal is received; transmitting the populated packet-switchedsignaling protocol message over a packet-switched network to request thespecified service; and establishing a connection to provide thespecified service through the port.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe dialed sequence is a shorter sequence than the assigned numericalsequence associated with the port.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: populating the first field with the assigned numericalsequence and populating the second field with the dialed sequence inresponse to identifying the dialed sequence as not associated with arequest for a specified service.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein thefirst field comprises an origination field and wherein the second fieldcomprises a destination field.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein thepacket-switched signaling protocol message comprises a SessionInitiation Protocol (SIP) message, and wherein the specified servicecomprises a voicemail service.
 6. The method of claim 1, whereinidentifying a dialed sequence and populating first and second fields ofa packet-switched signaling protocol message comprises identifying thedialed sequence and populating the first and second fields of thepacket-switched signaling protocol message at a Public-SwitchedTelephone Network (PSTN)/Internet Protocol (IP) gateway device.
 7. Themethod of claim 6, wherein the PSTN/IP gateway device comprises aDigital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM).
 8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein transmitting the populated packet-switched signalingprotocol message comprises transmitting the populated packet-switchedsignaling protocol message to a server configured to provide thespecified service, and wherein establishing a connection comprisesestablishing a connection between the port and the server.
 9. The methodof claim 1, wherein transmitting the populated packet-switched signalingprotocol message comprises transmitting the populated packet-switchedsignaling protocol message to an application server, wherein theapplication server is configured to transmit a request to a media serverconfigured to provide the specified service, and wherein establishing aconnection comprises establishing a connection between the port and themedia server.
 10. A computer program product for establishing aconnection in a communications network, the computer program productcomprising a computer readable storage medium having computer readableprogram code embodied therein configured to carry out the method ofclaim
 1. 11. A network access device, comprising: a port having anassigned numerical sequence associated therewith and operable to receivea Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) signal; a controller operable toidentify a dialed sequence corresponding to the received DTMF signal,populate a first field of a packet-switched signaling protocol messagewith the assigned numerical sequence, and populate a different secondfield of the packet-switched signaling protocol message with theassigned numerical sequence, wherein each of the first and second fieldsof the packet-switched signaling protocol message are populated with thesame assigned numerical sequence associated with the port at which theDTMF signal is received in response to identification of the dialedsequence as associated with a request for a specified service; and atransmitter operable to transmit the populated packet-switched signalingprotocol message over a packet-switched network to request the specifiedservice.
 12. The network access device of claim 11, wherein the dialedsequence is a shorter sequence than the assigned numerical sequenceassociated with the port.
 13. The network access device of claim 11,wherein the controller is further operable to populate the first fieldwith the assigned numerical sequence and populate the second field withthe dialed sequence in response to identification of the dialed sequenceas not associated with the request for the specified service.
 14. Thenetwork access device of claim 11, wherein the controller is operable topopulate each of an origination field and a destination field of thepacket-switched signaling protocol message with the assigned numericalsequence associated with the port.
 15. The network access device ofclaim 14, wherein the packet-switched signaling protocol messagecomprises a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) message, and wherein thespecified service comprises a voicemail service.
 16. The network accessdevice of claim 11, wherein the port is operable to receive the DTMFsignal over a public telephone network, and wherein the controller isoperable to provide an interface between the public telephone networkand the packet-switched network.
 17. The network access device of claim16, wherein the network access device comprises a Digital SubscriberLine Access Multiplexer (DSLAM) operable to provide a Public-SwitchedTelephone Network (PSTN)/Internet Protocol (IP) gateway.
 18. The networkaccess device of claim 11, wherein the transmitter is operable totransmit the populated packet-switched signaling protocol message to aserver operable to provide the specified service, and wherein thecontroller is operable to establish a connection between the port andthe server.
 19. The network access device of claim 11, wherein thetransmitter is operable to transmit the populated packet-switchedsignaling protocol message to an application server, wherein theapplication server is operable to transmit a request to a media serveroperable to provide the specified service, and wherein the controller isoperable to establish a connection between the port and the mediaserver.